


No Weddings and a Funeral

by ThatOCLady



Series: Rafael Barba & Annie Dalton [3]
Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Annie Dalton, Barba injured, Death, Drama, F/M, Funeral, Gen, Grief
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-03 01:36:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8691409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatOCLady/pseuds/ThatOCLady
Summary: Sonny confronts Rafael at a funeral. Soon after, Rafael's life is endangered, making Annie reconsider what she took for granted.





	1. Into The Valley Of Death

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thank you for all the support you show my stories. It's what motivates me to keep writing. This chapter after, the updates will be a little slow. Say, one or two chapters a week. So if you like this, add it to your bookmarks or subscribe. Please? Okay. We're cool.

Her handkerchief was crumpled, but Aunt June was wiping her tears with it still. The house was quiet. Uncle Mick's loud, bellowing voice was not there anymore. It would never be again. Sonny looked at his watch. Annie came into the living room with her aunt's purse and a pair of kerchiefs.  
"Come on, June. It's almost time", her brother roused her.  
"Annie?"  
"I'm here", she gave the grieving widow her hand, "Let's go"  
Sonny was at the end of the procession, but he was there.  
  
At the cemetery, all the distant Tylers and Beluccis attended the funeral. Michael Tyler Sr. had lived a full life, the priest said. Some of the guests did not understand Italian, but it had been the dead man's last wish that his funeral be conducted in the language of his Tuscan forefathers.  
"Sorry I'm late"  
Rafael took the chair next to Annie. She placed her hand on his and told him it was okay. Rafael looked around. Sonny gave him a nod; he was sitting a chair behind Annie's.  
_"Nel nome del Padre..."_  
Everyone stood up. The coffin was going under. Aunt June had worn a traditional black veil. She sniffled with her head against Annie's shoulders.  
"Michael", she whimpered, "They are burying your Pa. Do something"  
Annie and Rafael exchanged a look. She took her aunt towards the grave as was the custom. Sonny came to stand next to him then.  
"Reading the gravestone?"  
"Yeah", Rafael said.  
_Here lies Michael Santino Tyler Sr., Husband to June Tyler, Father to Michael Tyler Jr._ To the left was another headstone - _Michael Christopher Tyler Jr. (1975-1992), Loving Son Taken From Us Too Soon._  
"How's Annie holding up?", Sonny asked.  
"You saw her. She didn't cry"  
"Yeah. Annie doesn't cry", he asked, "How are things between you two?"  
"Quite well", he said sardonically, "Thank you for asking"  
"You ever wonder what Annie's gravestone will read?"  
_Son of a..._ Rafael controlled his anger with much effort.  
"What did you say?"  
Sonny guessed,  
"It'll probably say 'Here Lies Annie Philomena Dalton'. That's all. No mention of any kids or a husband"  
"If you have a point, Carisi, you better get to it"  
Sonny shook his head, before leaving.  
"I don't know what you are waiting for"  
He walked over to Annie and Aunt June, kissed them both. After crossing himself before the grave, he left.  
  
A week after the funeral, Annie and Rafael were sitting in their drawing room. She had asked him to look over her late uncle's documents. He had left the house to his wife as well as Annie.  
"That's all", he handed her the papers.  
"Does it now say I relinquish my claim over the house?"  
"Yes. I'll have Jesse take it to the notary office tomorrow. He'll call you if there is a problem"  
"Okay", she leaned back into the chair, "Thank you, Raf"  
"My pleasure"  
"When I die", she said, looking at the ceiling, "I want Scottish bagpipes playing Amazing Grace. It'll be beautiful. I want everyone crying at my funeral till they look ugly and their noses are running"  
"I'll remember that", he smiled, "if I outlive you"  
"You _will_ outlive me", she insisted.  
"What gives?"  
"I am the cheerful type - the kind who dies young. It's a miracle I've made it this far"  
To his eyes, she looked the same as the first time they had met. There were faint, discernible lines on her forehead now. Annie was past 40. By a general estimate, they still had 25-30 years together.  
"Annie?"  
"Yeah?"  
She leaned forward.  
"Do you ever think about us getting married?"  
"No"  
_Well, that hurt._  
"No?"  
She reminded him,  
"We don't believe in marriage, do we? It's just a civic formality"  
"It is, but don't you ever wonder what it would be like?"  
"I don't think getting married would make any difference to us. You can't love me anymore than you do already. We are happy together. Why risk it with the stress of a wedding?"  
She smiled.  
"You're just having a mid-life crisis. Stop thinking so much, okay?"  
He nodded in agreement. Laying her head against the chair, Annie hummed. She looked at him.  
"Sing for me? Your voice is much better than mine"  
Considering her mood and the occasion, Rafael indulged her.  
_"Amazing Grace"_ , he sang what she had been humming, _"How sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me"_  
Annie joined him,  
_"I once was lost but now am found. I was blind but now I see"_  
She rose and kissed him.  
"Thank you", her hand passed along his shoulders,  
"You coming to bed?"  
"Yeah. You go ahead"  
"Okay"

* * *

 

Another conviction. The press gathered on the courthouse steps to interview ADA Rafael Barba. He came to them, followed by the Manhattan SVU Sergeant.  
"Counselor, what was..."  
"Mr. Barba, do you think..."  
He raised his hand a little and told them he'd answer their questions one by one. A man tried to make his way to him through the crowd. When that didn't happen, he stepped aside and pointed a gun at Rafael.  
**"THIS IS FOR MY BROTHER!"**  
The shot was followed by screams and scrambling. Olivia pushed Rafael down and covered him. Fin and Rollins ran after the shooter.  
"Barba", her fingers were coated with his blood, "Oh God"  
She rode with him in the ambulance. Rafael tried to tell her,  
"Liv... tell Annie I love her"  
"She knows", Liv assured him, "She's on her way to the hospital"  
He shut his eyes and winced.  
  
Bright lights and closed blinds - a hospital room. Rafael felt... woozy. He was swimming in a river when someone started stroking his forehead. When the hand moved away, he followed it out of the water. The hand belonged to Annie as she sat facing away from him. Face haggard, eyes...  
In their five years together, he had never seen her cry. Sure, she did cry at tragic scenes or anything with infants (mammals and others). This was different. Tears were streaming out of her eyes without a second's pause. He could have tolerated weeping or sobbing. But Annie cried noiselessly. There was no trembling or coloring. It was the weeping of one who had cried too often.  
"Annie?"  
His voice was weak. She reared her head up and smiled upon him.  
"Hey", her face was still wet, "How'd you sleep?"  
"Are you crying?"  
"Me?", she laughed and dried her eyes, "No. No. Crying is for..."  
She didn't finish the sentence but stroked his forehead again and kissed his face all over like he were a child. He took a deep breath to inhale her fragrance.  
"Does it hurt?"  
"Not really. Was I in surgery?"  
"Yeah. Doctors say you're fine now. And Olivia told me they got the guy who shot you. Do you remember that?"  
"Yeah"  
He glanced at the clock on the opposite wall - 12:35 AM.  
"How long have I been here?"  
"A while", she pulled up his sheets a little.  
"Did you tell my mother?"  
"Yes. I had to send her home an hour ago. She is fine. The doctors told her you were going to be okay"  
He reflected on that.  
"How long have you been here?"  
"Same as you. I wanted to make sure none of the nurses took any liberties with you since you were in a hospital gown"  
His smile was as weak as his voice. He would have laughed but the strength had left him.  
"I did something quite dramatic today"  
"Other than getting shot?"  
"In the ambulance, it felt like I was dying. And with what I thought was my last breath, I asked Liv to tell you that I love you"  
Another on-set of tears, but while the smile stayed on her face.  
" _Te amaré mientras viva_ , huh?"  
"Look at that. You are speaking Spanish. I should get shot often"  
"Don't say that. Get some sleep. I'm right here"  
"I'm sorry I scared you"  
Her forgiving smile was always the best.  
"It's not your fault. Sleep now. The doctor will check on you in an hour"  
"Okay"  
Gripping her hand close to his heart, Rafael closed his eyes. He swam again.


	2. Pawned Off

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While Rafael is still recovering from the shooting, Annie's Aunt June complicates her life once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for your response to my stories. I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate it. This is the penultimate chapter of this part of the series. It's more about Annie than Rafael. That's why I kept it short. Hope that's not a problem. Thanks! :)

Once back at home, it took the joint efforts of Annie and Lucia to keep Rafael in the apartment. They played good cop and bad cop. Lucia, to Annie's surprise, preferred to be bad cop.  
"Finish your soup, Rafi!"  
"I am not a child. What is going on with you?", he exclaimed.  
  
After a few weeks, when Lucia went back to her place, Annie had to use all her charms to coax Rafael into resting. He often made her wear skimpy clothing while looking after him. And _more than often_ , that led to something else.  
"Somebody's happy", Annie was putting her clothes back on.  
Rafael lay naked in bed, basking in the afterglow. He chuckled,  
"You think?"  
She kissed his nose before moving away. He held her back by the wrist. Green eyes told her all that was to know.  
"Raf", she shook her head, "We have done it twice since morning"  
"I know", his shoulder hurt as he pulled her back in bed, "I just thought of something more we could do"  
"Babe, I..."  
He was already removing her clothes. Annie gave him a look of reproof. He said,  
"Come on. I go back to work tomorrow. We won't be having daytime sex until the weekend then"  
"Good point", she gave in with a grin.  
They were necking like teens when the doorbell rang. Annie jumped up,  
"Saved by the bell"  
"Not for long", he said and grabbed his clothes.  
Annie walked to the door, adjusting her dress, and peeped through. It was Aunt June and her niece Cordelia.  
"Aunt June!", she hugged them both, "Corey! Come in, come in. What a surprise"  
  
Rafael answered all of Aunt June's loving inquiries about his health. They were sipping lemonade when the old lady said,  
"Rafael, why don't you show Corey the apartment? I want to talk to Annie alone"  
"Um, sure"  
Annie mouthed a 'sorry' to him. He assured her with his eyes that it was all right. Aunt June didn't even wait for them to leave.  
"When you called me yesterday..."

* * *

  
Corey was admiring Annie's bookshelves in the spare room. It pleased Rafael to see a teen who liked books. His phone rang somewhere in the apartment. He followed the tune to the living room but stopped midway. Aunt June was saying to her foster-child,  
"You know I never approved of your engagement to Michael"  
Annie nodded.  
"Well, your Uncle Mick made me keep a secret all these years. It's about you and Mike. When he... a week before he died, I asked Father Andrew to talk to him. I wanted him to convince Michael that it would be wrong for him to marry his foster sister. I know he never treated you as a sister but that's what you were"  
_'Old bat'_ , Rafael grimaced.  
If she had come all the way there to upset Annie, she wasn't going to get away with it.  
"Father Andrew did convince him, Annie. Michael had his faults but you know he would never offend God. He was going to break the engagement off. He wouldn't make you party to a sin"  
Annie said,  
"Michael would never do that to me"  
Aunt June insisted,  
"He swore before God, in my presence and Father Andrew's presence too. He pawned off the ring he had bought for you"  
All Rafael wanted to do was put a stop this humiliation. Annie asked,  
"Why are you telling me this now?"  
The woman's eyes filled with tears,  
"Because I didn't want to hurt you before"  
She sobbed. Annie's own eyes were dry. Aunt June continued.  
"What you told me yesterday, it made me realize I had to set you free from the promise you made him. That's all, honey"  
"Free or not", Annie sounded cold, "Michael come back from his grave can't stop me from what I'm going to do"  
Aunt June nodded in comprehension.


	3. And For Bonnie Annie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The title of this chapter is taken from William Douglas's poem 'Annie Laurie'. I hope this chapter makes you happy. Writing it brought me some writer's relief. The sequel to this part will be up in 2-3 days. Let me know what you think of this. Thank you very much!

He asked her about it at night. Annie didn't answer. She climbed into bed with him and showed him her phone. It had a picture with Rafael's face photo-shopped to that of Grumpy Cat.   
"Hilarious", he deadpanned.   
"I know", she grinned, "Sonny thought the same"   
_Deflecting techniques? Seriously, Annie?_   
Being a lawyer wasn't the only advantage he had over her. He knew her like he knew his own skin.   
"When you and Aunt June were talking, I kind of overheard", Rafael said, "Everything. It was curiosity, that's all. Mostly because you never talk about your childhood"   
"I don't, because most of my childhood memories include my ex. You don't like to admit it but you have a jealous streak"   
"I do not"   
"Really?", she turned to him, "You are all PDA with me in front of Sonny and my male colleagues. You just stop short of peeing in a circle around me, marking your territory"   
"That is gross", he said, "And you are changing the subject"   
"Okay"   
"Okay what?"   
She leaned her back against the cushioned headboard.   
"Today, I shall make a clean breast of it all. I'll tell you everything there is to know"   
He sat up too.   
"I'm listening"   
  
With her vivid and descriptive words, Annie took him to the very depths of her life. Born of an absentee mother, she was raised by her vagabond father.   
"He was a high school dropout and a born wanderer", Annie smiled, "Imagine being a conman and a single father. He raised me all by himself. He was so funny. And really good looking. His hugs were the best too, felt like I was wearing a warm coat. After my birth, he stopped duping women. Gay men sometimes, but never women"   
"What a gentleman", he commented.   
"He thought it would be bad karma that would somehow extend to his daughter. He was really smart, and a quick learner. He started posing as an Italian three days after we set foot in the country. Learned the language & the mannerisms in two days. Can you believe it?"   
"It does explain a few of your talents", he said, "Did you never ask him about your mother?"   
"He told me himself. Dad never lied to me, never thought me stupid because I was a kid. It was one of the things I loved about him"   
"Who was she?"   
"You're wondering if my mother was a hooker"   
"No, I...", _no use lying._   
"She wasn't. She was in a cult, don't ask. The girls were supposed to get pregnant by "aliens" i.e. people outside the cult, when they turned 21 and then raise the kids in the cult tradition. My Dad helped her get out of there and start a new life. She wanted to do that without me. Dad didn't mind. When I was a kid, I used to blame her for my looks. All I wanted then were blue eyes and golden hair like my father"   
"Sorry I brought her up"   
"No. It's fine. And honestly, I didn't care if I had a Mom. He was enough. We were enough. Happy. He gave me this beautiful name: Annabella. Home-schooled me. Didn't teach me his trade though. He would tell me, _'Stick to books, Annie. Study. You should never have to use anything but your brains to get ahead in life'_. We were like Lone Wolf and Cub", her smile faded, "We spent 4 or 5 years in Italy after the FBI got him on their radar. But around my twelfth birthday, I had this really bad seizure. I don't remember it but I still remember Dad's face when I came to. He was petrified. He wouldn't let any doctor near me, didn't trust them. But this was serious. So we came back to the States. He took me to his childhood doctor in Boston. That's where they caught up with him. We fled to New York. They nabbed him there. All the time during his trial, he would tell me, _'Never let them see you cry. Crying is for marks. Even if these idiots put me in jail, they can't hold me in there for long. I'll come back and we'll go to Germany this time'_. He was already working on his German"   
She revealed,   
"They shot him when he tried to break out of prison"   
  
Annie was twelve when she was entered into foster care. She held Rafael's hand while telling him about the Williamsons and their boy.   
"You were molested? Why did you never tell me?"   
She seemed offended.   
"I thought it wouldn't matter to you"   
"It does matter to me, Annie. He hurt you"   
"There's no point going after him. Michael beat him near to death on my fifteenth birthday. Said it was his present to me", she smiled.   
Rafael rubbed his temples with his thumb and fingers. He was doing all he could to contain his anger.   
"And Aunt June came to tell me that Michael was going to break up with me, as you overheard, you sneak"   
"Why did she come all the way here to tell you that?"   
"She is old world, wanted me to know I had her and his blessing too apparently"   
"For what?"   
Annie looked lovingly into his eyes for a moment. She seemed to be committing his face to her memory.   
"All right", she said.   
Rafael was astounded as Annie sat before him on her knees. She took his hands in hers. He shot up in bed when tears spilled out of her eyes.   
"I want to be your wife", she whispered.

  
A thousand words to say but not one came to him. Her tears were as contagious as her laughter was though.   
"I know it's just a formality, just a title. But I want it. When I saw you in the hospital, I couldn't help but think of how close I was to losing you forever. Of growing old without you, while you stayed the same in my memory. We might not care for what people think but I want them to say 'Hey. That big-shot editor is Rafael Barba's wife'. I want to-to wear a cheesy ring on my finger with your name on it. I want the world to know that I'm yours and you're mine, in every which way two people can belong to each other. Please"   
"Annie, don't cry", he whimpered.   
"I'm sorry", she sobbed.   
"No. You have nothing to be sorry for. I... I just want to show you something. Wait"   
He got out of bed and knelt on the floor. By moving the nightstand, he uncovered a safe. There was a small jewelry box inside. Back in bed, he told her,   
"Not that it's too expensive, I just didn't want you to find it. And I know you don't like diamonds or swanky jewelry..."   
He opened the box to her eyes. It was a gold ring, with a single tiny heart engraved on it - as cute and simple as the woman it was made for.   
"That's my heart on a ring, and I want you to carry it on your finger. I hope that's cheesy enough"   
Annie was speechless. He cleared his throat.   
"Annabella Philomena Dalton..."   
"Who told you my middle name?"   
He smiled,   
"Will you allow me the great honor of becoming your husband?"   
Annie looked from the ring to him. She wiped her eyes full of tears and shrugged, as if she hadn't asked him first.   
"Somebody's gotta do it. What the hell. Yes"   
He slid the ring on her finger without wasting a second, and sealed the deal with a kiss.   
  
Annie ultimately broke down into his arms crying. He kept kissing her, telling her how happy she had made him.   
"Thank you"   
"Hey. No. _Sshh_ "   
"You don't know how much I love you, Raf. You don't", she wept against his chest.   
"I know. Believe me, I do"


End file.
